Betrayal From Within
by Ninja-Consultant
Summary: A four chapter story about the trials that Superboy and Match go through when Match can longer count on his body. Completed.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

Betrayal From Within, chapter 1

Conner woke up, wishing violent destruction on the alarm clock. He had once used his powers on it and had been given a long lecture about it. Right now, he was thinking that a lecture might not be such a bad thing compared to that annoying ringing. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He was surprised to see Max stirring groggily.

"Aren't you normally up by now?" he asked. "Are you feeling okay?"

Max looked at the alarm clock. He turned it off.

"I'll go fix breakfast," he said.

Martha had already prepared breakfast. "Sleeping in today? It's okay, you must have needed it."

They got to school a little later than usual because they had to share the bathroom to get ready.

Conner noticed Max was a little slow at school. "Are you feeling okay?"

Max gave him a smile. "I'm fine. I guess my waking up late has thrown me off a bit."

At home, he still seemed to be struggling.

"I think you're sick," Conner said.

"I don't get sick," Max said. "I'm fine. I'll just go to bed early."

"You want the bed and I'll take the cot? I don't mind."

"Thank you, but that shouldn't be necessary."

At dinner, Martha said, "Max, you don't look like you're well. Are you sick?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Max said. "I'm fine."

Max collected the dishes to take into the kitchen. A few moments later, a thud sounded from the kitchen. Conner, Jonathan, and Martha went to see what happened, and they saw that Max had collapsed on the floor.

"Max!" Conner exclaimed as he went to pick him up.

Conner laid him on the sofa, surprised that Max hadn't regained consciousness. Martha put her hand on Max's forehead.

"He's burning up!" she exclaimed.

"I'll change the sheets on the bed," Jonathan said. "Conner, you're going to have to sleep on the sofa. You don't want to catch whatever he's got."

"Conner, get me some clean towels and ice. We'll try to keep him comfortable."

Conner brought them to her. "Should we call a doctor?"

"We can't without risking your secret," Martha said. "We'll have to see how he's feeling in the morning."

* * *

Conner tried to get comfortable on the sofa, but failed. He kept replaying the day's events in his mind and tried to figure out if there was anything that could have caused Max's condition. He couldn't come up with anything. 

He hadn't known Max to ever get sick. In fact, Conner had only gotten sick twice; once with the clone-plague and once when he was melting due to the Agenda's tampering. He hadn't seen any blemishes on Max, but he hadn't checked out anything other than his face and arms. He hoped Max's condition wasn't as serious as either of those times.

I'll check tomorrow, he thought as he uneasily drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Max was awake but looked awful. He was paler than normal. His fever remained, and he was visibly sweating. 

"I'm fine," he claimed, an obvious lie.

"No, you're not," Conner said. "It's okay to admit that you're not feeling well."

"I called Clark," Martha said. "He's going to come and take you to the JLA Watchtower at the end of the day. Conner, he wants you to go too."

Despite Max's protests, Conner helped him bathe. He needed it since he had sweat quite a bit the previous night. Conner also checked to see if there were any blemishes. There were none.

Conner was distracted that day at school. He kept wondering what was wrong with Max. He still couldn't come up with anything. Perhaps he was overreacting because he hadn't ever had a regular experience with illness.

That night, Conner and Max underwent examinations at the Watchtower. Dr. Mid-nite was going over all the tests. Kon's results were regular and used as a baseline comparison for Max's.

Finally, Dr. Mid-nite came out of the lab.

"Match, I have your results."

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Any and all comments welcome!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

Betrayal From Within, chapter 2

Conner shivered as he lay in bed that night. He looked over at the empty cot and thought back to the discussion Max had with Dr. Mid-Nite.

* * *

"You've found a problem," Max said. 

"Yes," Dr. Mid-Nite said grimly.

Conner had a feeling of dread.

"What is it?" Max asked, sounding detached.

"Your body is degenerating. I don't know the cause of it, but the effects are undeniable. Your body's systems are failing."

"I see."

"Is there anything you can do?" Conner asked.

"In other cases, I could transplant organs to stave off their failure, but there are only two Kryptonian-human hybrids that I know of. The effects are widespread enough that it couldn't do much. We can hook you up to life support to take the pressure off of your body, but that would only delay the inevitable. I'm sorry."

"Do you have an idea when I'll no longer be able to function?" Max asked.

"It's looking like a matter of weeks."

* * *

Conner felt tears run down his face. He wiped them away angrily. He wasn't going to give in to despair. He was going to find a way to save Max.

* * *

Barbara Gordon sighed. Superboy had made a request of her to locate several geneticists. Unfortunately, she had received the same list from Superman, and, earlier, Batman. The communications console beeped. If this was another request to find geneticists, she was going to scream. 

Match's face appeared on the screen. "Oracle, is there anything I can do to assist you?"

"Shouldn't you be resting?" she asked, noting that he didn't look very healthy.

"I can still operate in support. I've been given permission to do that."

She glanced at another screen and verified that was true.

"I'm going to send you part of a list of individuals to find," she said. "I'll be working on the rest of it. If I find your work is unsatisfactory, then I'm going to revoke your permission."

Match nodded. "That's understandable."

Barbara sent him half the names on the list and started working on the other half.

* * *

Conner was a little disturbed at how well the Cadmus staff had gone into hiding. He had managed to find Serling through her mother. Or rather, Oracle did. 

"Kon!" she said, hugging him. "It's been forever! How are you doing?"

"I've been okay," he replied. "I've got a problem that I hope you can help me with."

"You don't have a clone plague or anything, do you?" she asked, worriedly, looking him over for any signs of illness.

"It's not me. I've got another clone whose body is degenerating. I want you to see if there's anything you can do."

Serling frowned. "I'll try, but going over a completely unfamiliar person's DNA is going to take time."

"You're already familiar with this DNA."

"Huh? Where have I seen it before? It's not Guardian's, is it?"

"It's the same as mine. Match is dying."

Serling blinked. "Are you sure you want to save him? Isn't he...a bad guy?"

"He's not bad anymore! He's...changed. He's my brother."

Serling blinked and then gave him a calming smile. "I'll help in any way that I can."

* * *

Dabney Donovan smirked. "It appears that I'm of use to you." 

Superman forced himself to be calm. He didn't like this rogue geneticist and thought that jail suited him quite well.

"There's a clone that needs your expertise," he said. "He needs you to save him."

"A clone? Really? Why not just make another? There's always room for one more, and even you won't be able to tell the difference."

Superman's eyes narrowed. "He's important to me. He's not someone who can be swapped out with another clone."

"So, what's his problem? Is he missing an arm or a leg and you want me to grow him another one? You hardly need someone of my caliber to do that."

"His body is degenerating."

"Oh dear, that's no good. So is it Superboy or Guardian who's falling apart? I didn't think Cadmus' warranty ran out so soon. Or is it a new Supergirl? I think it's been a week since there was a new one."

"It's neither of them. The person I want you to help is Match."

Donovan stared at him for a second before bursting out laughing. "Match? The clone of a clone? He can't be replaced? Oh, this is priceless."

"I know you're already familiar with the details of him creation."

"Yes, I've studied the Agenda's cloning techniques. It's not fully accurate to call him a copy of Superboy; it's more accurate to call him a cheap copy."

* * *

"Those were the only two you could find?" Batman asked. 

"The rest have gone into hiding," Oracle said. "Given more time, I could find them."

"Those two will have to do."

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I originally wasn't going to do this as a story, but I thought there needed to be something between Tragedies of the Past and one I'm currently writing.

Any and all comments welcome!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

Betrayal From Within, chapter 3

Serling was concerned. Match looked pretty bad and Kon wasn't taking that very well. It was very clear to her that his nerves were frayed in concern over his 'brother.'

She resisted the urge to shake her head in disbelief. The last time she saw the two of them together they were fighting. Now, they were family, each concerned for the other's well being.

She knew that Match was concerned for Kon, even though he tried to hide it. He kept up an optimistic front and didn't let on how badly he was really feeling. Serling had the data; she knew that he was feeling much worse than he let on.

She would have felt a lot better if Dabney Donovan wasn't working with her. Even though he was in a cell in an off-site location, her skin crawled every time she heard his voice. Since he was in frequent communication with her, that happened far too often for her tastes.

Unfortunately, the man was brilliant and had the best ideas on how to combat Match's cellular degeneration. With his help, Serling had managed to reduce the rate of degeneration.

Serling's screen beeped and she steeled herself before answering. Sure enough, Donovan was calling her again.

"I've had a breakthrough, Dr. Rockets," he said, smiling that oily and arrogant smile of his.

"Don't call me that," Serling said automatically. "You've figured out how to stop the degeneration?"

"Yes, I have, Dr. Rockets. I'll send my findings now."

Serling looked at the file he sent. He had made a few errors, but Serling corrected those. It was a workable solution that would prevent Match's condition from deteriorating any further.

* * *

Kon was feeling out of his element as he waited on a rooftop in Bludhaven. He knew that the Kents would be unhappy with him if they knew where he was because no only did Bludhaven have a bad reputation, but it was a school night as well. 

A brief burst of enhanced hearing alerted him to Robin's presence a moment before he stepped out of the shadows.

"I got your message that you needed to see me," Robin said. "What's up?"

"Thanks for coming," Kon said. "Do you know about the situation with Match? I mean, his condition and stuff?"

"I'm aware of it. I also know that two top scientists are working on it. Oracle can't find any more, and what's needed is beyond my scope."

"I trust Serling. I know she'll manage something, but the best they can do is to prevent him from getting worse. He's still on life support and in bad health. What's needed is some way to make him better. I've been looking in the JLA database for ways to do that."

"What do you need me for?"

Kon steeled himself for Tim's reaction. "I need you to take me to a Lazarus pit."

* * *

Serling went into Match's room to tell him the news about the new treatment. 

Match managed a weak smile. "Thank you for all your efforts, Dr. Roquette. I know that you've done your best."

"You don't seem as overjoyed as I hoped that you'd be."

"It is unfortunate that my condition has deteriorated to the point where that won't be enough to save me. We both know that."

Serling looked down. "I'm sorry. I hoped that you didn't realize that. I'm not sure what else I can do."

"Can you comfort Kon when I'm gone? I've tried to spare him the full extent of my condition, but I doubt that I've been successful. He's always shown the disturbing ability to pick up on my true state."

"We'll continue searching. If there's a way to save you, we will."

"I must admit that I never thought it would be like this. I've always thought that there'd be more violence involved in my death, not succumbing to my body's failures."

"You're an optimist, aren't you?"

Match managed a weak laugh. "I've always been a pessimist."

* * *

"Are you crazy?" Tim shouted. "I can't believe that you're considering that! It's insane!" 

Kon met Robin's glare with one of his own. "It's an emergency. It's the last option out of the ones he has."

"You do know that Batman's tried his hardest to destroy all of them, right? There probably isn't a Lazarus pit left for Match."

"Just help me find the old ones, okay? If there's any liquid left over, I'll find it."

"Forget it," Robin snapped, turning away. "I'm too busy for this sort of ill-thought plan."

Robin would have left, but his feet wouldn't leave the ground. He stared at Superboy in shock; he didn't know that he could hold another to the ground with his powers.

"Robin, I don't want to lose him," Kon said softly. "You're right, this is a bad plan, but it's the only one I've got. I have to try everything I can to save him. Can you blame me for that? I don't want to lose my family."

Robin winced at Kon's words. Having recently lost his father, the plea against losing a family member was particularly effective on him. Robin sighed. He didn't think this would help, but he had to give Kon the opportunity.

"I'll show you where they are," Tim said, sounding tired. "I hope you know that there's little chance of saving him."

"I have to believe it's possible. I have to."

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Any and all comments welcome!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

Betrayal From Within, chapter 4

After Robin arranged with Batgirl to keep an eye over Bludhaven, he drew up the locations where Lazarus Pits had been. They were scattered around the globe, and Kon and he were only able to go to three before it got to be too late to continue.

At each of the locations, Superboy had searched with his intermittent x-ray vision. He didn't find any of the Lazarus Pit remaining. He refused to give up hope though.

"How many do we have left?" he asked.

"There are another three," Robin replied. "We can't make those tonight."

Kon nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

* * *

Batman stormed into Match's room. "Do you have any idea what they're doing?" 

Match looked at him with sunken eyes. "If you're referring to my brother, then I have no idea of the specifics. I suspect that he's embarked on a futile quest to try to reverse my condition. It's the sort of thing he'd do."

Batman's eyes narrowed. "He's brought Robin into this. They're trying to track down a Lazarus Pit to use on you."

Match stared at him for a second before bursting out in laughter. "Oh Kon, I underestimated your creativity. That wouldn't have occurred to me."

"There isn't anything funny about this. He's brought Robin in on this madness."

"I'm sure Robin made a choice to assist him. You can hardly expect him to do everything as you would."

"Robin's a good soldier-"

"No," Match shot back with surprising vigor, "he's not a soldier. If you don't know the difference between a soldier and what all of you are, then I've been giving you credit for too much intelligence."

Batman glared at him. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Match leaned back in his bed. "Go away. I don't have the strength to argue with you."

* * *

The next night, Kon and Tim continued on their search of abandoned Lazarus Pits. 

The first one they checked was completely dry. Kon's optimism began to get a little strained since Tim only had two more locations. There were also traps that the two had dealt with for this first pit, and Kon had gotten his hopes up.

The second one had no traps. It also looked to be dry.

"Let's move on to the last one," Tim said.

Tim was hiding it, but he was worried about what his friend would do if he lost his 'brother.' While Tim didn't really care for Match, he knew how painful it was to lose a family member. He didn't want Kon to have to go through that.

"Hold on," Kon said. "I think there's something there."

Tim looked skeptically at the dry former Lazarus Pit. "It's dry."

"I swear I can see something down there," Kon said as he put his hands on the bottom of the pit and used his powers to shift the earth apart.

Tim looked down and saw a small amount of the Lazarus Pit's liquid. "How-how did you see that? There must have been a dozen feet of soil in the way!"

"I guess I got a good burst of x-ray vision," Kon said, sweating. "Can you get it? It's tough to keep this open."

Tim scrambled down and carefully put the liquid in a container, making sure not to touch any of it. "Let's go."

* * *

Match was asleep when Superboy and Robin arrived at the Watchtower. They told Serling what they had found. 

"I don't know," she said dubiously. "Just because people claim that this thing has healing or regenerative properties doesn't mean that it does. I don't think there's a scientific basis for it."

"Trust me, it works," Robin said. "I've seen it. You've already arrested his degeneration?"

"Yes," she replied. "Unfortunately, his organs have been damaged too much. They're not getting worse, but they won't support him for much longer."

"This'll take care of that," Superboy said, indicating the Lazarus Pit liquid. "It has to."

"You know that people go crazy when they get hit with it, right?" Robin asked. "It only lasts a short time, but it's very intense. Batman said it gave Ra's Al Ghul superhuman strength during this time. I can only imagine that Match would be similarly boosted."

"Yeah," Superboy responded. "We'll move him to a room where he can't destroy anything important."

They moved Match to an empty storage room. Serling and Robin waited outside the door while Superboy doused Match with the liquid. Match started screaming, but he looked a lot healthier. The Lazarus Pit liquid was working!

Unfortunately, he was also quite violent. He lashed out with his powers and knocked Superboy across the room.

'Crap,' Superboy thought. 'He's as strong as he used to be before he got buried. He's my equal, except he's a lot angrier right now.'

Superboy met Match head on, hoping to grapple with him until he calmed down. Unfortunately for him, Match threw him with a move that he hadn't seen before.

Robin tried to hit Match with a taser, but a telekinetic shield blocked it. Match started to advance on him.

"Get help!" Robin ordered Serling.

Serling took off as Robin tried to get another gadget to deal with Match. Unfortunately for him, he was telekinetically thrown into a wall.

As Match advanced on the unconscious body, Superboy tackled him. As Match squirmed underneath him, he felt other people pile on to help restrain him.

After a few moments, Match stopped struggling and said, "I'm in control of myself again. You can get off of me."

Kon was able to get up and saw that the Martian Manhunter and Superman had joined him in trying to control Match. They looked confused about what had happened.

"How do you feel?" he demanded of Match.

"I'm confused as to why I was tackled by people while wearing a paper gown," Match replied. "Physically...I'm feeling good, very good."

"I'll want to run some tests to make sure, but if you were able to do what you've been up to for the past few minutes, I think you've made a complete recovery," Serling said.

Kon hugged Match and started crying, "I thought I was going to lose you! I couldn't let that happen!"

Match looked taken aback and awkwardly patted Kon on his shoulder. "I'm okay now. You saved me. Thank you."

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I'm in the process of working on the next story, tentatively titled "Sins of the Future."

Any and all comments welcome!


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